Days of Summer

Monday, August 18: Weeds' season 4 is going strong. If the unbelievably sexy Silas weren't enough to keep you tuning in, it's sure been fun watching Celia unfold. Once the hot drunken mess she was wandering around suburbia with a flask, now she's botching Nancy's drug running and, oh, how the tables have turned. Elizabeth Perkins has never been so amazing. Or catch the last few episodes of the HBO miniseries Generation Kill, the story of the first 40 days in Iraq through the eyes of several distinctly humane characters -- some gruesome, some noble, some patriotic, and almost all of them hot and obsessed with each other's masculinity. Check out the character profiles on the Generation KillHBO website. Tuesday, August 19: Laura Marling (above) is a bleached blonde, 18-year-old Brit who has a bright musical future. Her debut is buyable today and it's worth a good listen: Her voice has its own beautiful qualities but could be a mixture of Joni Mitchell and Martha Wainwright. She did a darling feature spot on a Mystery Jets song called "Young Love" and her first single, "Ghosts," off Alas, I Cannot Swim, is a softly charming folk-pop song that will make your heart swell. So get it now. Some other big names have records coming out today, too: The Dandy Warhols, The Walkmen, Juliana Hatfield. and Stereolab, to name a few. Maybe it's her youth, but Laura's feels freshest. Wednesday, August 20: A new season of Gossip Girl is upon us, and our Monday nights are about to be owned. Luckily, we can catch up on all the juicy scandals, affairs, betrayals, and now (so exciting!) outings. The lovely Serena van der Woodsen (cutie Blake Lively, above) has a little big gay brother, Eric. He came out, boldly, in front of a crowded party at the end of last season, and was outed to his mother by the ridiculously bitchy Michelle Trachtenberg character, Georgina Sparks. We can only assume the gayness continues long into season 2. Get the first now to refresh your memories, peruse the wicked "parental advisory" ad campaign at Popnography, and text your friends to clear out their Mondays for the next few months. Thursday, August 21: Imagine Pocahontas as a man. No, not at your local drag show but a real live man/woman from pre-white people America posing for the black-and-white camera in stilletos. This is the beauty of Kent Monkman, a gay Canadian Native American, who'll be showing his gorgeous work, a spellbinding mix of photography and set design, at the National Museum of the American Indian. Miss Chief, a drag Indian persona, is the focus of his photos showing in Remix: New Modernities in a Post Indian World in the Financial District of New York until September 21. Check out a few beautiful paintings, too, before you head to the NMAI George Gustav Heye Center.Friday, August 22: Hamlet 2 doesn't so much create an afterlife for the Danish prince of Shakespeare's famous drama. It mainly lampoons flamboyant theater types trying to put on a big show that no one really wants to see or be in. Steve Coogan, an Out favorite, shines as the hilarious director of this monstrosity at a New Mexico high school trying to revive his dying theater program. Some big names support: Catherine Keener, Elizabeth Shue, and Amy Poehler, for example. Watch the trailer here. Not enough laughs? Try The House Bunny instead, in which indie darling Ana Faris takes a step away from the Scary Movie franchise and produces her first flick, naturally, about an aging (27, to be exact) Playboy bunny making herself useful as a House mother for a bankrupt sorority. Watch the trailer and decide for yourself how she did. Saturday, August 23: Chicagoans are in luck. Making only a few stops on their tour, 5 Funny Females are not only playing at the Lakeshore Theater, they've recruited 5 Funny Fags to join them tonight for a team comedy effort that boasts a hilarious lineup of 10 comedians to keep your pants wet. The host is Susan Alexander, but you may recognize some of these funny (wo)men from Here! networks, VH1, or NBC's Last Comic Standing. Get your tickets now. Sunday, August 24: There's no question Los Angeles is gay. With West Hollywood and the movie industry, the sprawling car city is crawling with homos. With 300-plus pages of stories ranging from heartbreak to first loves, the personal to the political, and from the bathhouse to the courtroom, over 20 writers bring their story to the volume Love, West Hollywood: Reflections of Los Angeles. Read them randomly, read them in order, read them when you move to L.A. Not in the mood for serious fare? You can find out everything you need to know, and maybe more than you wanted, about a certain legendary super-fey NBC sitcom with The Q Guide to Will & Grace, out now.